Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Google's Goggles App Brings The Getty Museum To Life [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5816049/google-goggles-now-brings-getty-museum-artworks-to-life

Google Goggles is getting all museum-y on us. Google has partnered with the Getty Museum to let visitors photograph artwork with Goggles and receive a guided virtual tour in exchange.

Google Goggles, the scanning app that promises to identify everything from your soup can to your local landmark, can now pull content down from the Getty Museum's mobile website. Visitors can read about the museum's artwork and listen to commentary from artists and curators. Some characters within the painting can even come to life with lively conversation provided by Getty.

It's an interesting mix that links a mobile app with web-based content. Because the content is on the internet and not embedded in the app, it can be refreshed quickly and easily. It also works outside the museum setting. Anytime you see a work of art plastered within an advertisement, you can grab a photo and find out more about its non-marketing origins. [Google]

A Must Have Apartment For Millionaire Clock Lovers [Desired]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5816065/a-must-have-apartment-for-millionaire-clock-lovers

This Brooklyn apartment has everything you desire. Privacy, space and a breath-taking panoramic view that will knock your socks off.

The $23.5 million penthouse apartment has four clock-styled windows that gaze upon Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. You can rest in one of its three bedrooms or solitude in one of its three bathrooms which have stone floors with radiant heat. Oh, the decadence of warm feet in the winter.

For the geeky folk, it's located in the converted 1914 Clock Tower building which was outfitted with 12-speed CAT wiring and Smart Home technology that lets you control the A/C, lighting and AV system. The Clock Tower apartment has been off an on the market since 2009, likely due to its exorbitant price tag. Anyone with a rich uncle or two?
[GHK Realty via Core77]

HP Envy 14 Beats Edition gets a slice of Sandy Bridge silicon, costs $1,050 at Amazon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/hp-envy-14-beats-edition-gets-a-slice-of-sandy-bridge-silicon-c/

HP's Envy 14 is quite the looker of a laptop, with its etched aluminum skin beckoning you to explore the capabilities of the Sandy Bridge CPU that lies beneath. For those who prefer the murdered-out look, the HP Envy Beats Edition is the preferable PC, but until now it lacked the upgraded Intel innards of its showy stablemate. That's right, Amazon's offering a second-gen Intel Core i5-2410M chip clocked at 2.3 GHz to go with those dark Dr. Dre aesthetics you crave (oddly it's not yet for sale on HP's website). The inky Envy with the big red "B" is priced at $1,050, or half a hundred more than its equivalently-equipped cousin -- what, you thought the paint job was free?

HP Envy 14 Beats Edition gets a slice of Sandy Bridge silicon, costs $1,050 at Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/hp-touchpad-veers-into-stores-early-flaunts-its-webos-moves-vi/

Dying to get your hands on HP's TouchPad before it's available on July 1st? According to Pre Central, a visit to either Best Buy or Walmart may afford you the opportunity. During the past few days, the stores have apparently begun quietly displaying demo-loaded versions of the slate. The device went up for pre-order about a week ago, but for webOS hopefuls still contemplating whether to take the Palm-rooted plunge, a pre-release impression may not be a bad grab between socks and motor oil. Don't feel like taking a trip to Wally World, you say? You'll find a video overview past the break; although the box to the left has us wondering if now's a good time for getting lucky...

Continue reading HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/sony-ultra-slim-13-inch-vaio-z-laptop-revealed-in-europe-packs/

Turns out those leaked shots we saw of Sony's new VAIO Z laptop were right on the money as the company showed it off officially today for the European press. The specs reveal a 13.1-inch "ultramobile" notebook that comes in at under 1.2kg with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 1600x900 screen and sheet battery borrowed from the earlier VAIO S for up to 7 hours of computing. Onboard it features only Intel's HD Graphics 3000 solution but the VAIO Z beats other ultralights with its Power Media Dock, which contributes the power of an AMD Radeon 6650M GPU with 1GB of dedicated memory connected via "the architecture codenamed Light Peak" -- Sony can't call it Thunderbolt -- when more polygons have to be pushed. The dock sports one USB 3.0 hookup plus additional USB, VGA and HDMI ports, and a slot for either a DVD or Blu-ray drive. ~~There's no word on a price yet~~, but it is promised to ship by the end of July in Europe so if the full specs (included after the break) are appealing then you don't have much time to save up.

Update: Head over to the Sony UK site to configure one yourself -- pricing starts at £1,434 ($2,294) with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and no PMD. The dock is a £400 ($640) option with no optical drive included, while upgrading to a 1080p 13.1-inch LCD is a mere £40 extra.

Gallery: Sony VAIO Z